Ukrainian Ground Forces

The Ukrainian Ground Forces are the land forces of the military of Ukraine, founded on 12 December 1991 after the Ukrainian SSR left the Soviet Union. The army inherited the Carpathian, Kiev, and Odessa Military Districts of the Soviet Army, as well as the Soviet vehicles and equipment left in Ukraine. By 2014, the army was very small, although Ukrainian troops had been deployed to assist the United States during the Iraq War. The Ukrainians were unable to stop Russia from annexing the Crimea in March 2014 due to the weakness of their military; many soldiers defected to the Russians or surrendered without firing a shot. In July 2014, when the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic broke away from the rest of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ground Forces began to recruit more men; by May 2015, 204,000 people were serving in the army, up from 129,950 in March 2014. In 2016, the army had 260,000 active personnel and 80,000 reserve members.